A team from the University of Maryland, US, tracked bats as they flew around a room hunting for a
mealworm suspended from the ceiling.
Despite their name,
mealworms are not worms but the larval form of the
mealworm beetle that are packed with nutrients which has typically made them a pet food for reptiles, fish and birds as well as being used for fishing bait.
Such researches have so far focused on five major species or species groups [1,4,5]: the common housefly (Musca domestica), the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), the yellow
mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), locusts (Locusta migratoria, Schistocerca gregaria, Oxya spec., etc.) and silkworms (Bombyx mori, etc.).
An unaware visitor randomly stopping by may be shocked, however, by the menu that includes cricket tea,
mealworm muffin and a silkworm green tea smoothie.
mellonella may not always be available, therefore, yellow
mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) could be an alternative host.
Keepers place
mealworm footballs between two mini goalpost, carrying the flags of the teams.
Upon arrival my friend (who I had convinced to accompany me) and I were greeted with the following cocktails:
Mealworm virgin mojito, anty gin and tonic and chapuline garden Pimms.
Insect delicacies on the menu will include curried cricket pakora, toasted cumin and
mealworm houmous, bug burger bites and a Grub Garden Tartlet combining red pepper and garlic chapuline grasshoppers, termites and
mealworms with spinach, pine nuts, artichoke, griddled asparagus and saffron pumpkin seed.
Netherlands-based protein conversion company Protix has acquired Netherlands-based insect breeding company Fair Insects to expand its portfolio in the
mealworm, cricket and locust market, the company said.
A HORRIFIED mum has told how she spotted half a
mealworm in a spoonful of her son's baby food.
Moreover, the two insects used for the study, the black soldier fly or Hermetica illucens (HI) and the yellow
mealworm or Tenebrio molitor (TM), can both produce a biomass high in protein and fat, by reclaiming nutrients, including AA and fatty acids, from manure and organic waste, said the researchers.
But perhaps
mealworm bread could become as common as Victoria sponge thanks to Huddersfield University student and avid cook Gemma Lamb, whose innovative take on the staff of life has won her a prestigious award.
mealworm - the larva of beetles of the family Tenebrionidae